Dark Agnes #01 - Sword Woman

Agnes de Chastillon (aka Dark Agnes) only appeared in two stories completed by Robert E. Howard, “Sword Woman” and “Blades for France”. A third fragment story, “Mistress of Death”, was completed by Gerald W. Page. Roy Thomas used the character as an influence on the creation of his popular Marvel comics character, Red Sonja. My first introduction to the character is her origin story, “Sword Woman”. This was originally published in REH: Lone Star Fictioneer #2 (cover by Stephen Fabian) in Summer 1975. It was reprinted for the first time in Zebra's 1976 paperback The Second Book of Robert E. Howard. The most popular appearances of the story are probably Zebra's 1977 The Sword Woman (cover by Fabian) and Ace's 1986 Sword Woman (cover by Ken Kelly).

Despite being written by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan and the Hyborian Age, “Sword Woman” is set in 16th century France. In the opening pages, Agnes is being forced into marriage by her father. After brief consideration and the spurring of her disgruntled sister, Agnes runs away from her home after stabbing her bridegroom with a dagger. Her father chases after her while shooting arrows in her direction. Needless to say, that's a wild wedding day.

While stopping to rest, Agnes is met by a man named Etienne Villiers. He lures her into a false sense of security with promises that he will escort her to a faraway town where she can become employed as a servant. Agnes hesitantly agrees, but later regrets the decision when she overhears Villiers discussing a transaction. Agnes realizes that Villiers is actually a wanted man, a fugitive from the He planned on selling her to a brothel. After she kills her planned purchaser, Agnes nearly beats Villiers to death. She debates turning him in to the law, then has second thoughts and escorts him to safety, where he can regain his health. In the meantime, she meets a mercenary named de Clisson who trains her to be a swordswoman.

I loved this story and found the Agnes character to be rather dynamic. The story is told in the first-person narration by Agnes, which is rather unusual in the pulpy tradition. Her hot temper, fiery red hair, and the description of “devil in britches” made for mesmerizing imagery throughout the storytelling. There are a number of great quotes from Agnes where she defies stereotypes, masculinity, and the norms of the era in a quest for personal liberation. The action scenes are as good as expected from Howard, with key moments being a riverbed fight where Agnes is thrusting her sword while shooting faces off with a pistol. 

Like every Howard fan, I wish there were more of these Agnes stories. I look forward to reading “Blades for France” next. I may also seek out this story's inspiration, which was probably C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry character, of which Howard had read.

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